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India, China agree on timeframe to
clarify LAC

India and China on Friday agreed on a timeframe to clarify the Line of Actual Control and also decided to have a series of high-level meetings in the next six months, including the first-ever dialogue on counter-terrorism.

The two sides agreed to exchange sample maps of the western sector by the end of the year, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh said after a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Tang Jiaxuan in Beijing.

Thereafter, the two sides would exchange maps on the LAC in the eastern sector early next year, he said.

The two countries have completed confirmation and clarification of the middle sector of the LAC.

Singh announced that the first meeting of the annual bilateral dialogue mechanism on counter-terrorism would be held in New Delhi on April 23.

"The establishment of this comprehensive programme of dialogue on various subjects, the efforts of the last four years or so to put India-China relations on a certain fixed and predictable rail have now borne tangible results," he said.

Singh announced that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee would visit China later this year, adding that the Chinese government had also welcomed the proposal for a visit by Defence Minister George Fernandes.

Stating that his talks with Tang and other Chinese leaders were "very productive and comprehensive", Singh said the "substantial decisions" imparting dynamism to Sino-Indian relations was "significant".

He said the third bilateral security dialogue would be held in Beijing in July-August this year and the 14th session of the joint working group on the boundary issue would be held in New Delhi in August-September this year.

The next meeting of the Eminent Persons' Group comprising leading personalities from various disciplines would be held in Beijing in May, the external affairs minister added.

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